East-Central European migration to the UK: policy issues and employment circumstances from the perspective of employers and recruitment agencies

Abstract

Since the accession of the A8 countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary and Estonia) to the European Union on 1st May 2004 citizens from these countries have had the right to participate in the British labour market. As a consequence of significant disparities in wage levels, large numbers of A8 migrants have worked in the UK, meaning that in a short space of time EastCentral Europe has become one of the principal source regions of migrants to Britain and nationals from these states now constitute some of the largest foreign-born populations in the country. This research draws on interviews with recruitment agencies and employers to shed light on the employment conditions of East-Central European migrants in the UK and the influence of policy and legislative issues on how this source of labour in recruited and employed. Key points covered in the analysis include: a typology of recruitment and employment practices in relation to the use of migrant labour in the UKs agribusiness sector, consideration of the influence of policy and legislative issues on how A8 migrant labour is recruited and employed in the UK labour market and the employment conditions of A8 migrant workers in the UK.

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ORCID for Teresa McGowan: orcid.org/0009-0002-9231-3743

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